Parent Involvement in US Early Childhood Education: Benefits, Limitations, and Reconceptualizations

Abstract

This chapter aims to broaden interpretations of how families in low-income, immigrant, and minority communities in the United States are involved in their early childhood age children's learning. By examining the benefits and limitations of previous conceptualizations of US parent involvement and studies that employ them, the chapter presents an argument for an expanded, sociocultural approach to involvement that incorporates a range of childhood activities such as play and work at home, at school, and in the community as well as social-emotional learning and childrearing lessons that are facilitated by parents and other adult caregivers. In addition to these contextual variations, the chapter advocates for a conceptualization of US parent involvement that takes into account parents' cultures, values, and expectations for their children's learning. The chapter provides implications for research, theory, and practice that give greater consideration to the educational contributions of diverse US families as well as the school practices that support them.